Masq Half 2015

This year has been a tough motivational year for me. I seem to have lost my MOJO and replaced it with NOJO. Seriously. So, I have not been doing much in the way of running or walking or run/walking. And, I'm getting older. It is harder to just go out there and do it without training and it takes longer to recover. Everything hurts. Sadly, I have been more along my old self of only "training on race days" lately and haven't signed up for a lot of races. But, without a race, I might not exercise.

I really like local races and I really like races with a fun theme. It gives me an excuse to put on a costume. I do not like running. YEAP, I said it. So, races give me an excuse to get out there and force myself to exercise. It's so much more fun with a crowd and with course support. And, I really do like the folks at Purpose.Race.Events. Small, local, fun. Good support. Friendly races. Friendly people. So, I signed up for the first (hopefully annual) Masq Half at the JW Marriott. This race also had a 5K and a 10K. Past years they have had a Pajama Pancake Run in October, but couldn't do it this year, so they also combined a Pancake 5K with this race. Both 5K followed the same route. The race was also coordinated with a Masquerade Ball at night, but I was flying to Kansas that afternoon, so no ball for me.

Packet pick-up this year had 2 options. Thursday night at Fleet Feet at the Rim or Saturday morning before the race. Because I like them and I think volunteering is important for any race organization, I volunteered to help with packet pick-up on Thursday night. I donned my INKnBURN mummy costume for the occasion. Any excuse to dress up, you know? It was small, mostly folks who work for Purpose and their children. A few other loyal volunteers. All very nice. I think it went smoothly. People gave their name and were looked up on an app (not my job) and I found their bib and someone in the back found their bag and shirt. A few folks changed races. A few folks signed up. There was some sort of number issue with relay races, so they had someone to help make sure those bibs were appropriately assigned. One person complained about the lack of information on the website. They wanted more information on parking. Only about 25% of racers picked up packets on Thursday, so I was worried about Saturday morning.


When I arrived on Saturday, the packet pick-up line was LOOOONNNGGGG. I didn't have to stand in it, but it seems like it moved quickly and it was cleared out before the race start at 0730. Sorority Girl and I met up with a few other INKnBURN ambassadors and took the obligatory pre-race pictures. I have so many INKnBURN outfits, but chose Nerd for this day. It seemed appropriate.  Sorority Girl wore Pirate. We also had Monarch and Calavera and MayTheFourth in our little groupings.

 There was quite the storm the night before and even the JW lost power and was running on generators. So, bathrooms were out of order and we had to find bathrooms in the staff areas. That was OK, too. Staff guiding us was very friendly. But, the rain stopped and the weather was great for running. All the races lined up together at the start. We had a brief announcement, and a prayer, and we sang the national anthem. Then we were off. I was signed up for the half, but had a flight to catch and was worried about time. I asked about switching to the half and was told they were sold out, but I could run that distance and just let the timers know I didn't do the half so I didn't get put into the wrong category for prizes (ha ... would have been closest to podium finish for me), but that I would receive the half medal. OK, that's cool by me.

Since I have NOT been training, I decided on 1 minute run/1 minute walk intervals. Sorority Girl was on board with that also as her training has been only slightly better than mine. We passed the turn-off for the 5K and somewhere about mile 2, my knees hurt. Since the next day was pretty important to me, I decided I needed to just walk it in. Sorority Girl decided to just walk with me. By about mile 3, the race was back on the golf cart paths of the resort for the rest of the route. We reached our turnaround point and I was actually relieved not to be continuing on for the half distance. Volunteers were cheerful and friendly and the company was great. We saw photographers during the last mile and decided to pick up some running again ... at least for the pictures and the finish line. The announcer saw us coming and said "who will come in first?" Well, when it's the two of us, we come in side by side. There is no sprint past one another.

We picked up our medals. Got a bite to eat. And took a few "thank goodness I'm done" pictures. Had to rush home, shower, put on compression socks and catch a plane.

As usual, I like Purpose events. Very nice people. Great course. Great support on the course. The shirts are always nice and I like the bags (but I do have a lot). I like the shirts because they have cute designs and don't have a lot of sponsor logos all over it. And the food is generally pretty good. The medals are well thought out. Check this out. Look close and it's a pair of running shoes that also are a mask. Super cute.

So, I'll be signing up for next year. It's really discounted right now. But, before then, I'm signed up for Illuminations, Missions, and Alamo 13.1. I would do Cocoa, but I'll be out of town that weekend. Hate to miss it. They have a few more races coming, too. Illuminations in March in Austin? And SpaGirl is in 4 locations in 2016. I wonder if I should do them all.  Maybe ...

Spa Girl Tri San Antonio 2015

I have said it before and I stand by it ... Purpose.Race.Events puts on great events. Well organized and always with a purpose. I had signed up for my 5th SpaGirlTri and knew it would be fun, but I admit, I had a tough week and just wasn't feeling in the mood. I figured I would take things one step at a time. So ... Friday evening after work, I stopped by the JW Marriott to pick up amazing swag. I figured, even if I didn't race, then I would at least pick up my bag. I also picked up for Sorority Girl. I kept to myself. But, admit, the reversible bag is cool and we got to choose candle scents. I really like the personal touch.

Yes, I covered my saddle with a swim cap. It might rain

Then, I figured, well, I have my bag, I may as well rack my bike. The Musician pulled Vaderette off the ceiling rack and aired her tires. Vaderette parked next to Shak's steed for good luck. I said "hello" to Lynn's Litespeed on a nearby rack. Purpose.Race.Events was kind enough to allow TriMomSA to have reserved racks so we could be together. Sorority Girl called as she was racking her bike and realized, she didn't have a helmet, so I drove back to the JW for a third time to loan her a helmet and give her a spare swim cap. This is her first tri and she was following my training method ... train on race day!
Did I mention it had been a rough week? I stayed up too late, but did manage to lay out my gear for morning. I was excited to wear my new Betty Designs kit. Woke up with a slight hangover and no appetite, but decided to chug some coffee. The Musician drove me to the shuttle drop off and then it was "go" time. At first, I just kept to myself, but then the other TriMoms started to trickle in. It was nice to see Shak and Lynn and Carrie and Kim again. I met Heidi and Sebrina and Yuka (and a few others, but I'm terrible with names). Love you gals. So motivating.

 TMI here ... so feel free to skip ahead. I count on morning coffee to prepare me for races, but lately it hasn't kicked in on time. Today, perfect timing and I felt ready to race. After coffee did it's magic, I found Sorority Girl.

We hung out a bit, did a final check of transition and headed to the pool area. We hung out with TriMoms as announcements were made, a prayer was said, and the participants sang the national anthem. I think this is one of my favorite parts of Purpose.Race.Events events. The clouds looked ominous and I was nervous about a downpour. Sorority Girl was in a different swim wave and she headed out.

The rest of the TriMoms were all in the same wave and started together. It took some time for the time trial start to get into the water. I met a girl from TriForce named Susan. I have to find her, she was super cool and fun and I would like to hang with her in the future. Remember what I'm about to say here. I was telling Shak that I sometimes forget to hit the button on Trusty Garmin ... or I hit the wrong button during transitions ... so I had to be careful not to have operator error so I could keep track of my pacing.

Relaxed hands

Poor form crossing arms

Swim: We followed each other into the water for our 400 meter lazy river swim. With so many people in the water ahead of us, the current was nice. I kept what I thought was a steady pace, but only I can get lost in a lazy river. Mid-way through, I heard shouting and looked up to hear people pointing for me to go right, I went left. About this point, I realized, I needed to start Trusty Garmin. Fail. After the swim, it's about a quarter mile run to transition, so I blame my long swim time on the run to the bike, right? 09:36

T1:  I didn't completely take a picnic in transition and off we went. It's about a quarter mile from transition to bike mount, so I'll blame my time on the run to bike mount, and the walk from dismount to transition. 03:26

Bike:  The bike was actually a lot of fun. My bike computer had me at 15-18 mph most of the time, but a few times I was at 22-23 mph. What? No training? The course was different this year with only one hairpin turn (well, twice since it's two loops), but my skills are no better, so I was still super slow with the turns. I need to get past the fear. And, I made it up the big hill at the finish without walking. I was grateful that the headwinds were always on the downhills and we had tailwinds uphill. We did get a bit of a sprinkle here and there, but the clouds didn't open up. There were a lot of Betty's on the course and it was fun shouting to them. We recognize the unique skulls and butterflies. Badass and feminine all at once. I saw my new friend Susan as she passed me telling me she wasn't a strong biker. 39:25

T2 was again, relatively quick (by my standards) and I actually had a minute to talk to Shak. She's usually way ahead of me at this point, so I knew she was taking it really liesurely. That had been her plan, but I didn't believe her. It seems she was following my method. Go out. Have fun. Laugh at yourself. Take it easy. As we started to run, some of the final swimmers were coming out of the water. 2:27

Run: Then it was off on the run and as usual ... the sticks on the bottom half of my body didn't work right. They just don't know what to do or where to go. 1.1 mile downhill, then turn around and 1.1 mile uphill. Somewhere along the route, Pink Ninja took a few pictures of me running. I never saw her, but she said she shouted my name a dozen times. I say I was delirious, she says I was focused. So nice of her. Somewhere on the run, I realized, I had not been pushing the right buttons on Trusty Garmin. It said I was biking very slowly right about now. 27:36

But, finally the finish. This year, there were lots of cute young men on the course and handing out medals. That's a really nice touch. I found out later, they were a young Air Force unit. How come they didn't look like that when I was coming up through the ranks? 1:22:42


The medals are gorgeous...as usual.

I picked up lovely food and mimosas and met up with the TriMoms who had finished. This was Sebrina and Yuka's first tri!!! You girls ROCK!!!

Amazing women

What is this medal made of?

  We celebrated with a few pictures and Sebrina even did my "jump" with me.

 Sorority Girl was in the water at least a full hour after I was. I went back to transition and her bike wasn't there yet, so I headed out on the bike course on foot. Ran into her amazing husband and super cute kid waiting for her on the big hill. Met up with her at the bottom of the big hill and trotted back to transition as she rode. I tried to find Pink Ninja at the finish line waiting for her niece, but no luck so I chased down Sorority Girl to finish her run. Dang it, my sticks still don't work. She has actual legs instead of jello appendages.

As we came around to the finish, I headed off to let her bask in the glory of her first tri. Her little guy ran the finish with her. I am pretty proud of myself for helping her to get through her first half-mary and her first tri this year.

 I had a left-over mimosa ticket and had been given one by another racer, so I grabbed 2 more mimosas. Nothing like hair of the dog.

 

All my SpaGirl Medals

After a few more pics, I called The Musician to pick me up. Cleaned up transition and headed out on the bike. Met a lovely group of people from Austin and told them all about SpaGirl Bastrop and other great upcoming Purpose.Race.Events such as MasQ Half, Illuminations Half, and of course, Cocoa Women's, Missions Half, and of course Alamo 13.1. I hope to see them there.

Of course, I had to take at least one picture of a flower

Alamo 13.1..The Best Little Half in Texas

Because I’m such a big fan of local races and, especially the organized races of Purpose. Race. Events, I had signed up for Alamo 13.1 long before I started prolotherapy. 

I had prolotherapy session #3 9 days before the race. I swear I have been religious about physical therapy, but I feel like that hip is getting weaker, not stronger. I asked the doc and he said it was not unexpected. (I love doc double-speak and do it all the time myself.) For 3 months, we have been poking little holes in my gluteus medius tendon and injecting inflammatory agents. Of course, my gluteus medius was not firing properly. It was not working so that the tendon wouldn’t be strained while it heals and regenerates. Something about my butt being smarter than my head …

Anyway, let’s keep going. I know races require volunteers. Purpose. Race. Events volunteers have always been great and in the week leading to the race, there were a few messages on Facebook and email asking for volunteers. I wrote and said I would volunteer for packet pick-up on Saturday. It was raining cats and dogs and Packet Pick-up moved indoors in La Villita.  I met the organizers and was just as impressed as always. They are really really nice people who care about individual racers. They really summed it up when they said they appreciate the support because they are all racers themselves and want to make their races “special.”  I wore my INKnBURN Amigo and Lace Capri because it seemed appropriate. I was given my volunteer shirt and wore it over Amigo. Before I put on my shirt, I did get lots of compliments ... as usual ... on my clothing. 

 I was assigned the final stop and bag check-out. Simply my location made me a sort of de facto information booth which was sort of fun. I tried to answer questions … or find answers … or just give support and advice (and platitudes). I got to meet lots of really nice people. Several folks came from Austin. A few people were in town on business and thought this would be fun. One couple traveled from Oregon just to do this race. I ran into a doc from SAMMC (she came in 4^th in her age group), Coach J, IronMama Bel, and Amanda –another  INKnBURN ambassador who was visiting from Arizona. It was funny … I recognized her at a distance because I noticed, and coveted, her shirt. I checked Facebook to confirm it was her. Small world. I also picked up my race number and sweet swag.  Always a nice Technical T-Shirt without logos. And, always a nice bag … this time the half-marathoners were given a small lightweight duffel.

Set up on Saturday night. I knew it was going to be a lonelier run than usual. The Accountant was sick. Sorority Girl was sick. But, PowerBroker was still going … we have different paces, but she would be fun to follow and she would hang back with me a bit. Heather was running. We have similar pace, but she is steady, where I’m all over the place.

 

Sunday morning, the alarm went off at 5 AM. PowerBroker texted 5 minutes later to cancel. It’s been a rough week. So, I drove down town, found parking, and walked to the Alamo. Took a few fun pictures. Said "Hello" to IronMama Bel. Met up with Heather. Amanda zoomed by us. 

Before the start, we were told about the purpose of this race … support of Trisomy Awareness and some inspiration. A prayer was said. The racers sang the National Anthem. There was a musket volley followed by a cannon blast to start the race.

 I seeded near the back and figured I would follow my usual plan … start slow and get slower. As I passed the start, there was Karina hanging out on the Bike. Lifetime Fitness Bike Club was providing support and she was the sweeper. Shout out and keep going. The first mile and we had circled back to the Alamo. The community was out cheering on runners. Just after the first mile, we had our first water stop and then the 5K split off. After that we had water stops about every mile. I always carry my own, so not really important to me, but important to other people.

Between Mile 2 and 3, we crossed a bridge and had a spectacular view of the city. Until this time, we had been running past beautiful old homes in cute neighborhoods. After this, I knew the biggest hill was behind us and there shouldn’t be much elevation change for the rest of the run.

Somewhere around Mile 3ish, we entered Brackenridge Park and did some running along trails and paved paths. Alongside the Golf Course. Through beautiful tree-lined paths. A variety of waterfowl just hanging out at the lake. Oh … and a wee bit of mud that was covered with rugs, but still soggy. In this area, there were a few sections of two-way traffic, so it was fun to see the leaders coming back a bit. At least at my pace it didn’t get congested. The bike support was encouraging with shout-outs and they did make space for the oncoming runners to make sure the speedy folks didn’t get slowed down by the turtles.

 Mile 5 and the 10K split off. The sun was starting to come out and … remember the rain from yesterday …well, that meant humidity today. As we crossed over into University of Incarnate Word, we stopped a bit to let some of the traffic thin out. I didn’t mind at all … forced rest!!! Nice run through the campus and we didn’t do the really big hills. Then another forced break to cross back to the Park.

Honestly, this is worse than usual. I blame
prolotherapy and weakened gluteus medius.
And, It really hurts right now.

Then it hit. Mile 9. Since Gluteus Medius is taking a break, Gluteus Maximus and Minimus and Piriformis were working harder. They revolted. No more lateral support and my left knee kept hitting my right knee and the pain in the butt was real. I remembered some words from my doc “…..blah blah blah …. don’t push …. blah blah blah … impact … resistance …. blah blah blah … Tendon Rupture …” My run was done. I was going to walk it in from here. Yes, demoralizing. Passed a guy who was suffering more than me. Said he had been doing great until Mile 7 when his knee quit and he was walking it in, too. Despite walking, I still passed a few folks and many passed me.

Mile 11 … Riverwalk is always lovely to run along. The flowers are in bloom and smell great. Heather caught up to me. We talked a minute and she kept going. She was pacing now exactly as she had targeted from the beginning. That girl is steady.

Mile 12 … Black Girls Run had the most encouraging, enthusiastic, energetic water stop. There were a couple of guys I had seen earlier with the funniest signs. “If you were a vegetable, you would be a cutecumber.” “The guy behind you is checking out your butt.” First time I saw them, I said …”He better be checking out my butt” because the new lace Capris from INKnBURN are awesome. He said “fo sho.” This time, another runner was passing me and I asked … “were you just checking out my butt?” He stuttered and blushed, so I think the answer was “yes.” We were then back up on the street and a girl I had been close behind for the last few miles was on a stretcher, crying, being put in an ambulance. I don’t know her. But, I almost wept for her/with her, too. 

 Finally … I see the Alamo and the finish line. I am not going to walk the finish chute, so I kick up a bit for a final run. OUCH!!! MY ASS REALLY HURTS!!!!

Agony!!

Happy to be done!!!

Thanks for the medal and the water. No thanks for the Chocolate Milk (but I’m sure other people appreciated it). Heather was a minute ahead of me. We said our congratulations. Her boyfriend had been finished for a while. He was so cute and attentive taking care of her. Went to get some food. Yes to the fruit boat. Yes to the Baked Potato ….they gave me mine plain as requested. No thanks to the Pizza, but I wanted it. Then a slow meander to my car. Along the route to my car I saw a few final runners coming in. Karina told about how much she was inspired by those final runners who “Fought to the Finish.”  I’m really ready to be done now. And, if you have read this far, you are too.

Yes, I will share my shame

 

Just a few final notes …

See how much happier she looks than me?
I think she's famous for her cheesy grin.

1.   My INKnBURN didn’t fail me. Comfortable in the sloggy humidity. Really fast wicking. And cute enough to get attention. Amanda wore the full lace kit and got lots of comments. But, she’s so stinking cute that she gets a ton of attention anyway.

2. I love the Purpose Wall. People wrote messages of the purpose of their run.

3.   Although I didn’t stay, I love that the organizers have a raffle at the end of the race … after the final runner … for CA$H!! It keeps folks hanging around to support those final finishers. Here is an amazing Blog Post about the final finish line experience. Trust me, it's worth the read and far better than anything I could have written. Now I regret that I didn't stay for the finish. 

4. Congratulations to Amanda and IronMama Bel for sub-2-hour PRs

Thumbs up all around for “The Best Little Half in Texas.”  And, thanks for the free race photos. 

Aaand ... Purpose.Race.Events has a new race planned this year. Sign up for the Masquerade Half at the JW Marriott on Halloween. What a great way to show off your running costumes. And they are having a Masquerade Ball in the evening. Super cool!!!